Books for Babies

12 June 08

There are numerous benefits for reading to your baby, and the earlier you begin, the better! Reading aloud teaches your baby about communication; introduces concepts such as numbers, letters, colours, and shapes in a fun way; builds listening, memory, and vocabulary skills; and gives babies information about the world around them. Plus, it is a wonderful shared activity you can continue for years to come – and it's an important form of stimulation.

Believe it or not, by the time your baby is one, she will have learned all the sounds needed to speak your native language. The more stories you read aloud, the more words your child will be exposed to and the better she will be able to talk. Hearing words helps to imprint them on her brain.

Sturdy board picture books with simple labelling words and clear bold illustrations are just right for your baby. Your baby is learning at a sensorimotor level, meaning that she is learning about her surroundings by using all her senses. Reading a picture book to your baby gives her the occasion to listen to your voice, see print and illustrations, make sounds, point to pages, as well as hold and touch the book. You will find that an older baby might imitate the tones and rhythms of your reading as well as gestures and facial expressions. The reading becomes more interactive when you recognise and respond to her cues – it is truly a sensory learning experience!

Different Ages, Different Stages

For newborns, as they cannot focus very well yet, choose books with large, simple pictures and patterns. Bold red, green, blue and black colours are usually best.
Between 4 and 6 months, your baby may begin to show focused interest in books, especially those with bright colours and repetitive or rhyming text.
After 6 months, your child is beginning to understand that pictures represent objects, and mostly likely will develop preferences for certain pictures, pages, or even entire stories. Your baby will respond while you read, grabbing for the book and cooing.
By 12 months your child will turn pages for you, point to objects on a page, and maybe even say "moo!" when you point to a cow.

As you share your chosen book with your baby, try these ideas:

Hold your baby so that you can make frequent eye contact.
Point to and label objects, body parts, people, etc. in the book.
Use a slow sing-song voice, and use different voices for different characters – be entertaining!
Spend time talking about the pictures before turning the page
Give huge praise each time your baby points at and names an object

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